The present invention relates to color wheels and, more particularly, to a device which aids in the identification of progressive color combinations which are aesthetically pleasing.
The three primary colors are red, yellow and blue. The colors are called primary because they cannot be mixed from other colors. When formed into a circle and each of the three primary colors is mixed with its adjacent color, secondary colors are created. For example, combining red and yellow results in orange, yellow and blue results in green, and blue and red results in violet. A third tier of colors is created by mixing one primary with its adjacent secondary color resulting in yellow/green, blue/violet, red/violet, red/orange and yellow/orange. Subsequent tiers of colors can be created by continuing to mix adjacent colors.
The sequence of colors on a color wheel isn't happenstance. It is based on the order in which color appears in the spectrum of light from the shortest wavelength to the longest. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet is the sequence seen in a rainbow. When these colors are arranged into a circle, a color wheel is formed. Intermediary colors are created by combining adjacent colors as described above. Various color values (the lightness or darkness of the color) are created by adding varying amounts of white (creating a tint of the color) or black (creating a shade of the color). Fashionable colors, colors which are in vogue at a given time, are created by adding gray to the color or hue.
Among others, color wheels are often used by artists, decorators, florists, cake decorators, painters and people involved in crafts such as quilting, needlework, beading and scrap-booking. Painters typically mix various pigments of paint and either add white, gray or black to create a needed color. Non-painters do not have the luxury of mixing colors to obtain new colors and must use color wheels to find aesthetically pleasing color combinations. For example, an interior decorator may want to find multiple color combinations in decorating the flooring, drapery, walls, furniture and accessories of a room.
Pleasing color combinations have been found to lie with colors which are on opposing edges of the color wheel (complementary), colors which are equidistant from one another (triad colors) and those that lie on either side of either the color (blended colors) or those that lie on either side of the complementary color (split-complementary). Other variations of pleasing combinations are possible as well by combining the colors found at the corners of symmetrical geometric shapes placed within the color wheel.
Many color wheels or selectors have been developed, but all suffer limitations. A painter's color wheel provides guidelines for how much color to add to another color to create a desired color. The color wheel typically comprises two rotatable dials, an outer dial sectioned into colors, and a smaller dial overlying the larger dial and having sections marked with primary colors and white and black. Windows are selectively placed in the smaller dial sections. As the smaller dial is rotated over the larger dial, the windows reveal the color resulting from adding the primary color, black or white to the color indicated on the larger dial. The color wheel may also include grey scales and limited color combinations. This particular color wheel is designed for the painter who mixes pigments to arrive at a desired color, and is excessively complicated for the non-painter or average consumer. Additionally, the color wheel does not have apertures under which a sample may be placed for matching colors. Furthermore, different color values are not available for easy matching.
Another known color selector comprises a transparent sheet having a form of a color wheel printed on the sheet. The sample is placed under the clear sheet and a matching color, or its approximate color, is found. Lines are provided to find complementary colors. However, multiple color combinations are difficult or even impossible to identify using this device.
A third known type of color wheel utilizes a large opaque backing plate or sheet having a single aperture therethrough, a color dial overlying and connected to the backing plate, and a rotatable disc centered on and attached to the color dial. The color dial includes several color sections which surround the periphery of the rotatable disc. Each color section contains six sub-sections which are formed in a ring around an aperture. The disc has a section indicating alignment with the color section selected and five outer portions identified as blending color combinations, triad color combinations, and contrast color combinations. In use, a sample is placed under the aperture and the dial having the color sections is rotated until a matching color is found. The alignment indicator of the disc is positioned towards the color segment, and the blending, triad and contrast colors are indicated. However, there is no provision for comparing more than one sample at a time as there is only one aperture through the back dial. Furthermore, the number of color combinations which are possible are limited as there is no provision for combining more than one set of three individual colors. Therefore, a user wanting to find a color combination for the decoration of the interior of a room is limited to three colors indicated on the color wheel for the numerous pieces and furnishings of the room.
Therefore, what is needed is a color wheel which allows the user to compare more than one color sample at any given time. What is further needed is a color wheel which allows the user to create a number of color combinations based on predetermined colors and which also aids the user in creating progressive combinations of coordinating colors. Additionally, what is needed is a color wheel which accomplishes the above while being simple to operate. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides other related advantages.